news details |
|
|
| Biased Delhi according a preferential treatment to Kashmir | | Discriminating Between Lakes -- II | | Neha
JAMMU, Oct 17: It needs to be emphasized that the Union Government has over the years pumped into Kashmir thousands and thousands crore of rupees to conserve and beautify the Dal and Nageen Lakes and other water-bodies in the Valley as well as River Jhelum with Jammu province not even getting crumbs. And, this, notwithstanding the fact that urgent steps were needed to be taken forthwith to conserve lakes in Jammu like Mansar, Surnsar and Sanasar. But neither the State Government nor the union Government had anything in its kitty for the conservation and beautification of these lakes. The State Government did knock at the doors of the Union Government a few months ago for "revalidation of lapsed funds and release of the remaining amount under a project, which was submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Ecology about four years back". According to official sources, the State Government had in 2007 submitted a project of "Rs 6.91 crore the Union Ministry of Environment and Ecology for conservation of Mansar and Surinsar Lakes" but the Ministry sanctioned a paltry amount of "Rs 3 crore to be released in five years from 2008". This should clinch the whole issue and establish New Delhi is biased against Jammu.
As per the same sources, during the past three financial years (2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011), the union Ministry released only "Rs 87.37 lakh for the conservation of Mansar and Surinsar lakes". The Wildlife Department under whose jurisdiction the Mnasar and Surinsar lakes fall could only "book Rs 62.50 lakh expenditure" and the result was that an amount of "Rs 24.87 lakh lapsed last year".
Insiders reveal that "during the current financial year, the Wildlife Department has no funds at its disposal for the conservation of the lakes" and added that "even by spending Rs 62.50 lakh during the past three years only works in the peripheries of these water bodies were carried out and the basic conservation work is yet to be started". Insiders further reveal that the "State Government has been left with the only option of knocking the doors of the Union Environment and Ecology Ministry for immediate revalidation of the lapsed Rs 24.87 lakh and release of remaining Rs 2.12 crore in one go so that actual conservation works could be started on a large scale". The delay in undertaking the required conservation works has further deteriorated the condition of these two lakes.
People of the area and certain well-meaning officials in the Wildlife Department complain, and rightly, that while "Mansar lake is facing the problem of degrading water quality and pollution due to inflow of silt from seasonal nullahs, besides reduction in water level because of lifting of water by the Public Health Engineering Department to meet the requirement of populace of localities surrounding the lake, Surinsar lake is shrinking very fast in the absence of conservation works". They also accuse Members of Parliament from the Jammu province of adopting an indifferent attitude towards these Lakes and other issues facing the people of the region.
The complaints of the people of Jammu province are well-founded and could not be dismissed as a manifestation of their bias against Kashmir. The official statistics speak for themselves. The people of Jammu province are suffering for three reasons: Kashmiri leaders' indifferent attitude, New Delhi's indifferent attitude and Jammu leadership's indifferent attitude. They know it but they are not getting the much-needed credible alternative. (Concluded) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
